The markets in Bangkok are spread over a wide area, and there is one to suit everyone's taste. From fruit to fashion, animals to amulets, you will find what you want.
During the last year I have written articles on Bangkok's markets but people still write and ask me which one is my favourite. Without doubt, it has to be Chatachuak, the biggest, noisiest, saddest and best. Sad because of the puppies and monkeys huddled in small cages awaiting a buyer. It is illegal to have monkeys for sale but ...
Then there are the tiny caged birds singing their hearts out. People buy these so that they can release them to gain merit. What happens to the person who catches and re-cages them isn't talked about!
MBK near the National Stadium, is my second favourite. Here I buy lots of cotton clothes for wearing while in Thailand - cool, well made and cheap. We're talking £3 ($6) for a cotton shirt with gold embroidery, ditto for cotton pants in black or white, silk garments and lenghts of silk from China, batik wraps and shirts, football strips, cameras, cell 'phones, compute software, digital cameras, shoes, bags, sweaters, jewellry, make-up and perfume - a lot of it fake.
Chinatown has its share of market stalls, and night-time Chinatown is a place of magic, with neon lighting up the sky, the smell of food intensifying the excitement, little children playing around the stalls, and old men and women sitting placidly smoking pipes outside their restaurants.
Patpong, two streets that house the girlie-bars and transexual shows, is the heart of the red light district of Bangkok, yet it has a brilliant night market. You can pop into the bars for a look, see a show, have a drink, and then come out and do your shopping - the market stalls are usually there until about 3 a.m., sometimes later.
When you are in Bangkok, go visit a market. You'll find whatever you want there.
